Two separate Traditional Owner groups have accused the federal government of misappropriating their words to falsely imply support for the 'Future Gas Strategy'.
Released by federal resources minister Madeleine King last week, the strategy details the government's plans for the sector, declaring the fossil fuel's necessity to remain part of the nation's energy mix until at least 2050.
The Northern Territory's Beetaloo Basin is nominated as one of the areas with discovered reserves which, if developed with hydraulic fracturing (fracking), could supply part of the country's domestic needs.
The Nurrdalinji Aboriginal Corporation, which represents 11 Native Title areas across the Beetaloo Basin, supplied one of the nearly 300 submissions that the government received as part of its consultation process.
It is unequivocal in its wholesale rejection of the extraction and use of fossil fuels.
"Fracking will further alienate Traditional Owners from spending time on Country, and living there," the submission reads.
"Once companies put all their thousands of wells across the Beetaloo Basin, where are we going to take our kids fishing and hunting?
"We are telling you we do not want gas mining on our Country."
However Nurrdalinji representatives say the government misused their words, after a small excerpt from the submission was used in a section on gas-powered generation.
"It wasn't accurate," the Chair of Nurrdalinji, Samuel Janama Sandy, told NITV.
"We just wanted to stop the fracking in the Beetaloo Basin. That's all we wanted."
Mr Sandy's opposition to fracking is well-established. He said the use of Nurrdalinji's submission amongst others supporting the gas industry was a shock.
"It was very upsetting," the Djingili Elder said.
"I felt disappointed that they got that content out of the Nurrdalinji submission.
"Actually they should apologise, either give us a call or send us an email. Apologise."
On Wednesday, the Dja Dja Wurrung Clans Aboriginal Corporation (DJAARA) echoed the criticisms of Mr Sandy, saying their submission had been "taken out of context" by the government.
"They're putting out inaccurate, incorrect information. They need to fix it," said DJAARA Group CEO Rodney Carter.
"We don't wanna mislead people, do we? I think a smarter person, once they look at our our strategies, would go 'This doesn't make sense. It doesn't gel.'
"It's just so flawed. I'm trying to curb my emotion. Extremely disappointed."
Advocacy for renewable energy omitted
The strategy touts the benefits of 'gas-powered generation' (under a heading of the same name) as "important for grid security and reliability", which can "complement ... wind and solar generation".
The same section notes the adverse effects of unreliable diesel-powered microgrids, disproportionately used by remote First Nations communities, before quoting the Nurrdalinji submission.
"Energy security is a pressing issue," the quote reads.
"The loss of essential electricity supply has wide-ranging impacts on us. It makes it hard to safely store medicine and food, makes it hard to sleep and for children to turn up at school."
A submission from AGL, the $1-billion-dollar Australian energy behemoth, is included in the same section, promoting the use of gas.
However, the full Nurrdalinji submission goes on to declare that "[the] answer for the problems of energy security in our communities is not gas but solar energy which is free, plentiful and does not cause further damage to the climate."
"This is where we want governments to concentrate. The world is turning towards solar and other renewable sources of energy."
The DJAARA submission also notes the Strategy's emphasis on the need to transition to cleaner sources of energy, which the body said it "supports".
"However, DJAARA question the premise of the Strategy, namely that ongoing gas production and development has a legitimate role to play in the transition to renewable energy."
"The emphasis must be on an urgent and just transition away from gas. This is due to the widespread impacts of climate change that disproportionately affect First Nations people."
Mr Carter also called on the minister to offer an apology.
"Who was at that authorship level? They really dropped the ball on this," he told NITV.
"I think she should get to the bottom of it ... so she can understand what she's apologising about."
Minister ignores calls for an apology
Despite the two groups' calls for an apology, a spokesperson for Minister King rejected the assertion that the quotes had been misappropriated.
"In consulting on the development of the Future Gas Strategy, the Australian Government received a large number of submissions from a range of organisations and individuals, and extracts from some submissions were quoted in relevant sections of the Strategy," they told NITV.
"The quote in question is used in relation to the section on energy security and how gas is used.
"It references the fact that many remote communities rely on standalone diesel grids.
"The text before and after the quote does not discuss the development of gas supply, but rather points to the use of renewables in micro-grids."
